![\"Chocolate](\"https:\/\/www.andiemitchell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/chocolate_cake_it_was_me_all_along-1-680x1020.jpg\")
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This week was a good one. James turned 4 months old, had a healthy 4-month checkup at the pediatrician, and we marked the four year anniversary of It Was Me All Along<\/a>! Oh and I changed out of my pajamas and into what many would consider to be “normal” clothes on 4 out of the 7 days, which was really something. To celebrate, I\u2019m starting a new series here where I share all of my recent favorites: things I\u2019ve read, watched, listened to, bought, eaten…you get the idea. Here goes nothing:<\/p>\n \u201cThe Weight I Carry: What it\u2019s like to be too big in America\u201d<\/a> by Tommy Tomlinson \u201cI\u2019ve never been anything but fat. Is there something in the fat version of me that also makes me likable and creative and a decent human being? Are the best parts of me all knotted up with the worst? Is there some way to untangle it and keep just the good stuff? Most of the time I think of my fat as a husk\u2014something I have to shed so the best part of me can come out. But sometimes I wonder if I\u2019m more like the shells you find on the beach, where the outer part is the attraction, and the animal inside is dull and shapeless.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Daily Annoyances for Most People Are Catastrophic for Poor People<\/a> by Linda Tirado \u201cIt is impossible to be good with money when you don\u2019t have any. Full stop. If I\u2019m saving my spare five bucks a week, in the best-case scenario I will have saved $260 a year. For those of you that think in quarters: $65 per quarter in savings. If you deny yourself even small luxuries, that\u2019s the fortune you\u2019ll amass. Of course you will never manage to actually save it; you\u2019ll get sick at least one day and miss work and dip into it for rent. Gas will spike and you\u2019ll need it to get to work. You\u2019ll get a tear in your work pants that you can\u2019t patch. Something, I guarantee you, will happen in three months.<\/p>\n When I have a few extra dollars to spend, I can\u2019t afford to think about next month\u2014my present day situation is generally too tight to allow me that luxury. I\u2019ve got kids who are interested in their quality of life right now, not 10 years from now.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n 90 Day Fianc\u00e9<\/a> Armchair Expert podcast<\/a> *Favorite episode: Jonathan Haidt<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Up until this year, I spent every night of my life in pajamas that I can only describe as mortifying (Exhibit A (my favorite): an oversized t-shirt my parents got me on a trip to Canada in the mid-2000\u2019s that read, \u201cSomebody who loves me very much went to Calgary, Canada and got me this shirt,\u201d and bumblebee-print pants). And while this feels very deeply \u2018me,\u2019 I\u2019ve always wished I were someone who wore, I don\u2019t know, nice pajamas I guess? The trouble was, every time I went to buy some, I pulled back, thinking of half a dozen other things I\u2019d rather spend the money on. Then I had a baby, and started spending my entire life in pajamas, so I bought and I\u2019ve never looked back. These pajamas are soft and comfortable while still being pretty darn good looking.<\/p>\n Sunbeam Heated Throw<\/a> For some reason (likely genetic poor circulation that\u2019s been handed down to me), I get really cold as I fall asleep. Or at least I used to. But not anymore. I put this soft fleece blanket on top of the covers on my side of the bed and turn it on the \u201cpreheat\u201d setting 10 or 15 minutes before bed. By the time I crawl in, it\u2019s toasty. The blanket itself<\/a> isn\u2019t the prettiest thing in the world, but it has 10 heat settings and automatic shut-off after 10 hours. I use it every night!<\/p>\n 12 Healthyish Winter Recipes<\/a> Note: This post contains a few affiliate links.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This week was a good one. James turned 4 months old, had a healthy 4-month checkup at the pediatrician, and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16594,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[999],"tags":[1182],"class_list":["post-16589","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-what-i-love-this-week"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andiemitchell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andiemitchell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andiemitchell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andiemitchell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andiemitchell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.andiemitchell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16589\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andiemitchell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andiemitchell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andiemitchell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andiemitchell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Read<\/h3>\n
\nThis piece in The Atlantic<\/em> is an excerpt from his book The Elephant in the Room: One Fat Man’s Quest to Get Smaller in a Growing America<\/a>. It\u2019s sincere and moving and so, so worth the read:<\/p>\n
\nMy mother has held at least two jobs for as long as I can remember. I cannot say that I know what it\u2019s like to be dirt poor, but I do know what it\u2019s like to struggle, to have your one family car repossessed, and to worry regularly about the lights getting turned off. All this to say, I have a tremendous amount of compassion for anyone who struggles financially. This article is an excerpt from Linda Tirado\u2019s book, Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America<\/a> and it\u2019s both necessary and devastating.<\/p>\nWatch<\/h3>\n
\nJust before I had James, I got sucked into the madness that is 90 Day Fianc\u00e9 on TLC. And once I gave birth, I sped through 5 seasons in a blur. The show is fascinating, to say the least. If you\u2019re not familiar, it\u2019s about men and women who fall in love with people who live in other countries (sometimes they meet while on vacation or on a religious mission, but most often they meet on online dating sites) and through a K1 Visa, the fianc\u00e9 is able to come to the U.S. for 90 days. They must marry within that timeframe or else the fianc\u00e9 must leave the country. I suppose what\u2019s most consuming about the show is trying to determine how real these relationships really are and what led these people to them in the first place.<\/p>\nListen<\/h3>\n
\nI\u2019ve been listening to podcasts for 11 years now, which translates loosely to me considering myself a bit of a podcast connoisseur. I\u2019ve listened to thousands of shows and episodes on topics that range from comedy to health to parenting. I discovered the Armchair Expert podcast, hosted by actor\/comedian Dax Shepard, at the start of 2018, and have since listened to every episode, falling completely in love in the process. As an interviewer, Dax is a natural. Whether he\u2019s speaking with an actor friend or an expert in a given field (ethics, writing, parenting, etc.), he\u2019s able to create a casual, comfortable conversation. He\u2019s curious, thoughtful, and honest, all of which matter quite a bit to us listeners, especially since he\u2019s not one to shy away from sensitive subjects. What I love most about Dax is that he\u2019s endearingly human, quick to reveal his own flaws and to reconsider his own beliefs.<\/p>\nWear<\/h3>\n
Find<\/h3>\n
\nDaniel has gotten me a lot of special gifts over the past 15-ish years, but I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ve ever liked any of them quite as much as the heated blanket he got me this year. Before your eyes roll all the way back in your head, wait! This could change your life.<\/p>\nMake<\/h3>\n
\nSweet Potato Toast<\/a>
\nSuperfood Green Smmothie Bowl<\/a>
\n3 Ways to Cook Trader Joe\u2019s Frozen Cauliflower Gnocchi (No Thawing Required)<\/a>
\nChicken Cobb Lettuce Wraps<\/a><\/p>\n